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Catherine I 1684-1727
Catherine I was originally peasant
Marta Skowronska.
Marta first married
Peter the Great and then ruled
as empress of Russia herself from 1725 until 1727.
How did Miss Skowronska attract the Czar's attention?
When she was 18 years old, Marta Skowronska was captured by the Russians during the
Great Northern War. Peter made big
eyes when he saw her, and for a similar reason they were blessed with
a child sooner than they could get officially married, which they did in 1712.
The Russian Orthodox church opted for a name change from Peasant Martha
to Yekaterina Alekseyevna.
In 1709,
Catherine and Peter welcomed their daughter
Elizabeth.
Catherine I
Oil on canvas by
Jean-Marc Nattier
State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg
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